Conventionally, spare tires have created design and storage problems in many vehicles, particularly pickup trucks. For example, a spare tire for a pickup truck is often hung beneath a pickup truck in a position below the truck bed. However, it can be difficult to access such a spare tire, and this storage arrangement also typically renders the spare tire subject to theft and/or environmental damage.
As an alternative, a storage compartment might be provided, for example, beneath the bed of a pickup truck or beneath the trunk floor of an automobile, into which storage compartment the spare tire may be slid. In this alternative arrangement, a slidable tray might be provided to support the spare tire with respect to the storage compartment and to facilitate easy sliding of the spare tire to/from the storage compartment. It may be desirable under certain circumstances to prohibit this slidable tray from moving horizontally or vertically, such as for example during vehicular travel. However, as a vehicle's spare tire is not typically accessed more than a few times during the useful life of the vehicle, a complicated, bulky, and/or expensive tray retention system is not typically desirable. Accordingly, there is a need for a simple, lightweight and cost-effective spare tire retention system that involves a slidable storage tray that can be selectively prohibited from moving.